


Sugar, Spice and Tea Cakes

by Sangerin



Category: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Genre: Domestic, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 20:56:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/141644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sangerin/pseuds/Sangerin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now in the Upper Fourth, Felicity Rivers has a standing invitation to tea at the Robinson Carter Riding School.  It's the only way Bill and Clarissa will ever hear news of their friends, after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sugar, Spice and Tea Cakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Angie13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angie13/gifts).



‘Thank you, Bill! Thank you, Clarissa!’ called the girls of the Upper Fourth at Malory Towers.

‘We’ll see you again next week!’ said Clarissa Carter, waving as the girls made their way out the front gates of the riding school. Behind Clarissa, Bill Robinson called out to one particular girl. ‘Susan! Remind Miss Williams that Miss Potts gave Felicity permission to stay to tea.’

Susan grinned as she waved in acknowldgement. ‘I will, don’t worry. Have a gorgeous time, Fliss!’

The long legged, dark haired girl standing with Bill and Clarissa waved back. ‘Of course I will, Susan. I’ll be back before the end of prep.’

As her class mates disappeared beyond the end of the drive on their way back to Malory Towers, Felicity Rivers grinned at her two hostesses and went in to tea. She was the younger sister of their classmate and great friend, Darrell, and Bill and Clarissa had a standing arrangement with the Head of Malory Towers that Felicity should join them for tea once a month. This allowed Felicity to catch Bill and Clarissa up on all the news from St Andrews University in Scotland, where Darrell, along with their other classmates Sally Hope, Alicia Johns and Betty Simpson, were studying. Darrell, although she hoped to be a writer, was not the best correspondent in the world – an irony frequently noted by her friends. She did, however, write regularly to her sister, still at the school that she had loved for all her years she had spent there. She relied on Felicity to spread her news to her former teachers, as well as to friends like Bill and Clarissa, who still lived close to their old school. The benefit to Felicity, of course, was a standing invitation to tea and permission to skip prep once a month. It must be admitted that Felicity was perfectly at peace with her sister’s abilities of correspondence. Tea at the Robinson Carter Riding School verged on the sumptuous. As well as beautifully brewed china tea, there were always guaranteed to be cakes and biscuits enough to tempt the most reluctant eater, and Felicity was not reluctant at all.

‘So,’ said Bill as she handed Felicity her cup of tea, ‘How’s Darrell?’

Clarissa was bringing a final plate of tiny tea cakes in from the kitchen. ‘Yes, do tell us,’ she said. ‘For all we’ve heard, Darrell might have fallen off a cliff into the North Sea.’

‘Don’t worry, she’s still on dry land,’ said Felicity. She plucked a cake from Clarissa’s tray and bit into it. ‘Clarry, this is simply scrummy!’ she exclaimed. ‘I don’t know anyone who can cook like you!’

‘Thank you,’ she replied, ‘But I’m sure a lot of people can cook far better than me. Especially as I’d rather spend time with the horses. But you were going to tell us about Darrell.’

‘I think she’s feeling better this year,’ Felicity continued. ‘She’s better settled in to everything. Alicia and Betty are involved in all sorts of societies and things. They’re always out at this or that. It’s not that Darrell doesn’t go out – but she isn’t as involved in the societies as she was last year. She wants to spend time on her work. She wants to do well: and Sally wants her to do well, too. And of course, Sally settles her – or at least, that’s what Darrell tells me.’

‘Sally always did,’ said Bill. ‘They’re a good pair.’

‘Like you and Clarissa,’ said Felicity.

Clarissa had joined them at the table, and Bill smiled as she passed the milk to her blushing partner.

‘Anyway,’ Felicity continued, ‘Darrell sends her love, and wanted to know all about how the riding lessons were going. I told her that we all loved it, especially that Miss Grayling lets us keep coming here even though we’re doing the School Cert., and your lessons were really supposed to just be for the juniors. ‘

‘Miss Grayling knows how important it is that you girls get exercise,’ said Clarissa. ‘She’d really rather not deal with too many girls who have been working far too hard and make themselves ill.’

‘The way some of your class did when you were doing School Cert.,’ said Felicity, with a cheeky grin.

‘Impudent girl!’ exclaimed Bill. ‘I think I should tell Clarissa not to send any cakes back with you for the others. You know they’re expecting them, and then you’ll have to explain to them why we sent you home without cake.’

‘You’d never really do that, would you Clarissa?’ asked Felicity.

‘I might,’ she replied. ‘After all, you just insulted our entire form, and you know we stick together.’

‘I’ll be good!’ said Felicity. ‘For the sake of cakes, I’ll be good!’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Bill. ‘Now, gather up your cakes and hop off back to school. We’ve got some errands to do in town, and we can’t have you missing your prep, or Miss Potts will rescind her permission for our teas.’

Felicity drained her cup and placed it back on the table before getting up and pulling her blazer on. ‘Potty’s on her afternoon off,’ she said, ‘And she’ll never know.’

‘What did we just say about impudence?’ asked Clarissa.

‘Sorry, sorry!’ Felicity took the basket of cakes Clarissa was holding out to her. ‘Thank you for tea, it was gorgeous. I’ll see you next time!’ Tossing an impish grin over her shoulder she dashed out the door.

Clarissa shook her head. 'Who would have thought that Felicity could be such an imp?'

'Anyone who knew Darrell at the same age?' replied Bill. 'Although Felicity is another level of impishness altogether. I think it's part of being a younger sister, actually.'

'Really? I've never particularly felt impish,' said Clarissa.

'Ah, sweetheart,' said Bill, leaning over to kiss Clarissa lightly on the cheek. 'You’re impish in your own way. In a way that I love and adore.’

Clarissa blushed. ‘You’re sweet.’

‘No, you’re the sweet one. Sugar and spice and all things nice,’ Bill teased.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Clarissa. Although her words sounded harsh, she was smiling at Bill as she spoke. ‘You’re certainly not made of puppy dog’s tails,’ she added, as they each leaned in to share a kiss.

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Bill. ‘It sounds messy, and smelly...’

‘Like we are when we come in from the stables?’

‘That’s not smelly, that’s horsey!’

Clarissa smiled. ‘I do love you, you know?’ she said, suddenly serious.

Bill nodded. ‘I know. I love you too.’

For a moment they sat silently, looking at each other and smiling. The stillness was beautiful. Then Clarissa leaned in to kiss Bill. ‘I’ll start clearing up in here,’ she said. ‘But how about a ride along the shore later?’

‘I’ll get the horses ready,’ said Bill, standing up.

Standing at the window of her form room an hour later, Felicity Rivers saw two riders cantering over the hills towards the cliff path. Both riders had excellent seats: one had long chestnut hair held back in a ponytail, the other had short dark hair, cropped as close as a boy’s. Even from that distance Felicity could tell that both riders were laughing and looking blissfully happy.


End file.
